Book: IT'S OK TO BE ANGRY ABOUT CAPITALISM
Author: Bernie Sanders
Published by: Allen Lane
Price: Rs 1250
Bernie Sanders was born in New York City in 1941, into a working-class family of Polish Jewish descent. He has been the senator for Vermont since 2007, having previously sat as a member of the House of Representatives between 1991 and 2007. While he is in some ways one of the elderly statesmen of American politics, age has increased his anger at the American system. Anger is the impetus behind his exceptional political career and the governing passion of his recent book — apparent from the title — It’s OK to be Angry about Capitalism. It is a reflective book, but only as far as it reflects on the state of American politics and society. It is a political book because it offers a vision for the future. It is a militant book, which attacks “uber-capitalism”, by which Sanders means the late stage of capitalism that feeds on greed, breeds multibillionaires, and has created immoral inequalities between the people at the top and the rest of society. Sanders does not mince his words: he tells us that “Billionaires should not exist,” asks us, “Which side are you on?” and says, “This is a class war. It’s time to fight back!”
The book is peppered with telling figures: “there are now three Wall Street firms — BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street — that control assets of over twenty trillion dollars.” Or, again, that 90% of all US media are controlled by eight major media conglomerates. The economy is intricately linked to politics. Sanders attacks the neo-fascist forces undermining democracy that are embodied in Donald Trump. He finds the cause of working-class support for Trump in the desperation and the alienation of working-class Americans abandoned by the Democratic Party.
Is it possible to remedy this situation? Sanders believes so. He finds inspiration in the socialist, Eugene Victor Debs, the railroad workers’ union leader of the twentieth century, in Martin Luther King’s questioning of the capitalist system, in F.D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. But Sanders also draws on his experience, notably his two attempts at winning the nomination to become the presidential candidate of the Democrats. These campaigns have taught him the lessons that constitute a blueprint for the future. He boasts success in organising a grassroots movement, funded by small, individual contributions rather than by corporate donations, in reconnecting with the people, having visited every single state, every single county; in taking on the power of Wall Street. He views these campaigns, especially the second one, as building a movement to transform US politics. While he recounts the hopes to gain the nomination, the subsequent support he brought to Joe Biden to defeat Trump, as well as his actions as chairman of the Budget Committee, the force of the book lies in his hopes for the future.
Sanders is a man with a mission: “[E]ducate working-class people about the realities of the economic and political system in which they live and struggle.” He argues in favour of political will rather than resources, defends moral values against the immorality of capitalism, and addresses what he calls the “systemic crisis” of America which affects politics, the economy, healthcare as well as education. His plans to reform taxation, to organise unions, to restore education as central to the progress of society, to rethink the role of media and to fund not-for-profit independent media are the principles behind his ambition to overturn the present state of capitalism. His voice resonates across the political spectrum. It deserves to be heard.
